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2012 campaign cash: $1 billion vs. $1 billion

The Obama and Romney camps have raised $969 million and $919 million respectively. | AP Photos

But Romney’s late-breaking strategy may be hindered by another strategic difference: His side raised more of its cash through the Republican National Committee and the joint victory fund it set up with the Romney campaign. The RNC and Romney Victory can accept far larger checks than the $5,000-maximum campaign donation, but they also have to pay more for ads than the campaign, face restrictions on how much they can spend in direct coordination with it and — in the case of the joint fundraising committee — is obligated to disburse its cash among a host of far-flung component committees.

To wit, Romney Victory revealed in a Monday report that it had transferred $44 million to the state parties in Idaho, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Vermont and $12 million to the GOP’s national congressional committees — which can’t coordinate with Romney. While the expectation in Boston is that the state party committees will use the cash to fund get-out-the-vote activities in key swing states, the plan carries some risk, representing a sort of outsourcing of critical campaign activity that most campaign operatives prefer to control themselves.

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Yet Romney is going to be forced to rely more on others down the stretch, since, at the end of September, the RNC and Romney Victory had $120 million in the bank compared with the Romney campaign’s $63 million.

Obama Victory, by contract, had transferred only $6.6 million to affiliated state parties — instead shipping most of its cash to Obama’s campaign committee. Partly as a result, it finished last month with $99 million in the bank compared with less than $50 million held by the DNC and Obama Victory 2012.

Plus, the Obama forces seem to be getting more bang for their advertising buck. That’s both because the Romney campaign’s unusual media-buying strategy has not reserved air time as far in advance as Obama’s, and campaigns get better advertising deals than party committees and outside groups through so-called lowest-unit rates.

Between Oct. 4 and Oct. 11, Romney, the RNC and GOP-allied outside groups outspent Obama and his allies on TV ads $31.6 million to $28.1 million, but Democrats aired about 5,000 more ads, according to data from Kantar Media’s CMAG ad tracking service reported by ABC News.

Ad rates aside, both sides’ super PACs and outside groups are planning aggressive pushes clear through Nov. 6 not only to reach as many undecided swing state voters as possible but also to prove their worth to the big donors who gave historic amounts of cash.

Priorities USA Action — which received a total of $6.7 million last month from Chicago media mogul Fred Eychaner, hedge fund manager Jim Simons, businessman S. Daniel Abraham and Hollywood producers Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg — finished September with $7.3 million in the bank. It’s already spent $12.8 million this month — entirely on negative ads scorching Romney.

In a Saturday memo, its co-founder, Bill Burton, boasted that Priorities’s $20-million summertime ad barrage attacking Romney’s record at the private equity firm Bain Capital made it “a significant liability.” And he pledged a “renewed effort” in swing states in the coming days.

Restore Our Future — which reported seven-figure September donations from Houston home builder Bob Perry, Houston Texans football team owner Bob McNair and Missouri construction magnate Stanley Herzog — ended last month with nearly $17 million in the bank. Its total fundraising for the cycle — $112 million — dwarfs Priorities’s $50 million haul.

But Restore Our Future spent heavily bludgeoning Romney’s opponents in the GOP primary and has devoted only $45 million to attacking Obama — lately focusing narrowly on a few swing states. The super PAC has also spent about $11 million on ads promoting Romney since April, when it became clear he’d win the Republican nomination.

The public will get a final look at the finances of the Obama and Romney campaigns, joint and party committees and super PACs by Thursday, when they face a deadline for detailing the money they’ve raised, spent and have available through mid-October.

Readers' Comments (207)

This issue is not how much they have raised, but how much each campaign has to spend in the last two weeks. Obama spent his money in the summer working to define Romney as an aloof and greedy capitalist. Romney could not spend money he could not access until after the formal nomination. Now, he has more money left to spend in the last two weeks. So much of the election is tied to cash that the fund raising needs to be re-examined.

WELL GANG -- LOOK AT THIS THE DAY BEFORE THE BIG FOREIGN POLICY DEBATE! JUST IN TIME ISN’T IT??

http://www.nytimes.com/...

Two weeks before the election! ONE DAY BEFORE THE FOREIGN POLICY DEBATE? What will this do?

*Take Libya off the front pages.

*Give Obama the 'creds' of doing something when he didn't.

*Will have folks guessing whether the story is true or false.

*Could generate some enthusiasm to go to the polls

*Could create the Neville Chamberlain idea that we now have “PEACE IN OUR TIME” thanks to Obama!

Think the real deal is that Axelrod and Jarrett (who was born in Iran) made a deal with Iran to make this announcement, and in return, the USA will loosen sanctions a bit -- all until after the elections of course.

If Obama was the leader he professes to be, why has he not crafted a coalition with FREE world countries – months/year earlier, rather than two weeks before an election – to implement truly EFFECTIVE SANCTIONS?

Just remember -- Trust but VERIFY! WHAT ARE THE SPECIFICS as to how will Obama VERIFY? Surely not the IAEA!!

sameolyellowdog Romney's "Finance Economy" vs. Obama's "Manufacturing Economy"..... We tried George Bush's "Finance Economy", and the only people it worked out for were Bain Capital and the outsources..... We tried Bill Clinton's "Manufacturing Economy", and it worked out for EVERYBODY..except maybe Monica Lewinsky....... The ONLY sustainable way forward for America is as a "Manufacturing Economy".....LIKE IT OR NOT...!!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRILLIANT IDEA! Question: With U.S. Federal Mininium Wage at $7.25 an hour, and the average Chinese factory worker earning $4,622 a year, are you willing to pay 3-4 times more for each and every product you buy? Throw in the Liberal "Living Wage" and we are talking about 10-15 times more. What direction has your income been going?

this is sad. Never did I thought I would see a day that two men would both spend so much money just to call each other names and to try and bring each other down.

I think we should have used this money for charities or at least to put a dent in the national debt. Then just have Obama, and Romney have the political fight in a elementary playground. I mean each of them are acting like children so let them play were the children should play.

Obama For America took out a $15 million loan from Bank of America last month, according to the campaign’s October monthly FEC report. The loan was incurred on September 4 and is due November 14, eight days after the election. OFA received an interest rate of 2.5% plus the current Libor rate. Why didn't Obama borrow the money from his terrorist buddies in Iran, Egypt, Syria or Libya?

Who spent more wisely? Initially Obama. His negative ads painted Romney as a murderer and Ryan as a guy that would push granny off a cliff. That all changed one night in Denver. After Obama fell asleep at the debate, it's been downhill since. Now team Obama has to borrow money while the RNC has $80 plus million in the bank for the next two weeks. Stupid community organizer runs his campaign like he runs the country...in the red.

Remember when once upon a time when the liberal media told us that Romney didn't have a chance agaist the messiah? All anyone talks about now days is romney surging, the polls tightened and Obama starting to fall behind.

The Obama re-election campaign has accepted at least one foreign donation in violation of the law — and does nothing to check on the provenance of millions of dollars in other contributions, a watchdog group alleges.

Chris Walker, a British citizen who lives outside London, told The Post he was able to make two $5 donations to President Obama’s campaign this month through its Web site while a similar attempt to give Mitt Romney cash was rejected. It is illegal to knowingly solicit or accept money from foreign citizens.

...

“We are not suggesting that just foreign traffic by itself is a problem,” said Peter Schweizer, president of the GAI. “But for a campaign that is very sophisticated in its fund-raising capabilities, they do not make one effort to try to even see or ask somebody to check a box that says they are a US citizen.”

Obama’s re-election campaign took in $130,867 from donors who provided no ZIP codes and $2 million from those with incomplete ZIPs in September.

That same month, Romney’s campaign recorded $2,450 from donors without ZIP codes and $2,500 from those with incomplete ZIPs.

Walker said it should have been clear to the Obama campaign’s computers that his donations came from a computer with a foreign IP address.

The Obama campaign says it “screens all credit-card contributions that originate from a foreign IP address” and requests proof of citizenship if questions arise.

But not only did Walker’s Obama donations go through, but he said he began receiving two to three e-mail solicitations a day to give more. The e-mails asked for $188 or more.

If Walker gave $188, his total contribution to Obama would be $198 — less than the $200 threshold at which campaigns have to identify the donor to the FEC.

SERIOUSLY, HOW CAN ANYONE BELIEVE A THING THIS GUY SAYS? He's PROVEN he will say ANYTHING that he think will advance his own political aspirations - regardless of what he said the day before. Can anyone name a single issue to which he's been consistent and hasn't flip-flopped? Is there one?

“I’m a strong believer in stating your position and not wavering.” “I changed my position.” HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Now let’s see how “consistent” Mr Romney has been shall we? --------------------------------------------------------- “I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.” “I will gladly sign a bill that outlaws abortion.”

“I don’t line up with the NRA.” “I’m a member of the [NRA].”

“I like mandates. The mandates work.” “I think mandates are unconstitutional on the 10th Amendment front.”

“I respect and will protect a woman’s right to choose.” “I never really called myself pro-choice.”

“I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” “I did not see it with my own eyes.”

“I supported the assault weapon ban.” “I don’t support any gun control legislation.”

“I will work and fight for stem cell research.” “In the end, I became persuaded that the stem-cell debate was grounded in a false premise.”

“I would like to have campaign spending limits.” “The American people should be free to advocate for their candidates and their positions without burdensome limitations.”

“Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check. Let them go bankrupt” “I’ll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry’s come back.” Really Mitt? YOU take credit? Of course you do

“I’m not in favor of privatizing Social Security or making cuts.” “Social Security’s the easiest and that’s because you can give people a personal account.”

“I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” “Ronald Reagan is my hero.”

“I’ve been a hunter pretty much all my life.” “Any description of my being a hunter is an overstatement of capability.”

“If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation.” “It's a state issue, I never said it should be a model for the nation.”

“It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.” “I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there.”

“It’s a tax cut for fat cats.” “I believe the tax on capital gains should be zero.”

“It’s not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.” “He’s going to pay, and he will die.”

“Relative to the leading candidates, some people see me as being more conservative.” “I’m not the most conservative candidate.” “I’m a severe conservative.”

“The TARP program… was nevertheless necessary to keep banks from collapsing in a cascade of failures.” “When government is… bailing out banks… we have every good reason to be alarmed.”

“These carbon emission limits will provide real and immediate progress.” “Republicans should never abandon pro-growth conservative principles in an effort to embrace the ideas of Al Gore.”

“Those… paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process toward application for citizenship.” “Amnesty only led to more people coming into the country.”

“When I first heard of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, I thought it sounded awfully silly.” “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has worked well.” ------------------------------------- WE DO NOT NEED A CHRONIC LIAR LIKE ROMNEY - SOMEONE WHO JUST SAYS WHATEVER YOU WANT TO HEAR - IN THE WHITE HOUSE. OR MAYBE HE'S NOT REALLY "LYING". PERHAPS HE JUST HAS NO CONVICTION TO ANYTHING

PANDERING AND CONSTANT FLIP-FLOPPING IS NOT LEADERSHIP. IT'S LYING.

ROMNEY IS OBVIOUSLY A FLIP-FLOPPING PANDERER. AND THAT'S NOT SOMEONE WE CAN AFFORD TO HAVE IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!